


Wishful Thinking

by speedmatsu



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: @ asterisk: he's a canon character but Who The Fuck, @ sans: rip, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6108997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speedmatsu/pseuds/speedmatsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here's a pop quiz. What would you wish for?</p><p>The boy in the jacket once wished for something. Isn't it funny, how wishes are revered upon? How they're seen as glimmers of hope, twinkling in unison as children smile in glee, just thinking about them? Isn't it cruel, how when wishes really do come true, they only ever bring out the worst possible thing?</p><p>Don't answer that question. After all, isn't there a story to be told?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. timeline one ; 2/25/16

The first timeline, he had wished for simple things. For his tab to be payed off, for his room to be cleaned without effort, or even for a lifetime supply of ketchup. Just small, ridiculous things that never really mattered.

 

On a particularly cold day, he came to Waterfall and wished on a star - no, they were _crystals_ , there weren’t any stars here - and wished for a sign for the impending resets. Although, wishes only came true in fairytales. He thought nothing of it, that day.

 

It wasn't long after that before another human walked out of the ruins. This one, compared to the others he had met, was about... nine? Ten? Somewhere around that age area. He was just glad he didn't have to attempt to keep a measly seven-year-old child from the king's forces again. That was exhausting, and he had no idea why the lady behind the door let that little rascal run out with an empty gun.

 

Same old song and dance, repeating the same procedure as he did with the other humans. Break the conveniently placed branch, and use the good old whoopee cushion. The kid burst into laughter, as he thought they would, causing them to sneeze on the dust that - wait. Wait wait wait no this was wrong why was there dust.

 

It was okay, he told himself. The kid knows about LV standing for Love, of course - they all had, for some odd reason. He couldn’t really, ah, _kill_ them, to be exact. He did make a promise, after all, and he liked to think that he took them to the grave. If push comes to shove, the best he could do was to threaten them, or guilt trip them. It did work with the gloves kid, after all.

 

He lead them to a conveniently shaped lamp - the lamp, of course, was a creation via magic from the shop in Snowdin, though that was a story for much later - or, rather, not at all.

 

He told them to hide behind it - it worked with the last six kids. His brother came, right on cue - man, he’s predictable - and did a good deal of monologue.

 

“EVERY GOOD HERO NEEDS MONOLOGUE, SANS!” he spoke enthusiastically, eyes glued to the flashing screen in front of him.

 

“Sure, bro,” was all he responded that night.

 

He let the human run off to do the puzzles, with a word of advice, of course. He watched over them and helped as best he could, courtesy of his promise. He even watched their fight with Papyrus. He had told him that he’d be there, after all.

 

It was all going so well - Papyrus was monologuing as usual, while the human kept punching him with the gloves that had previously belonged to the kid who he once called friend.

 

But, not to worry, he thought. It was only for self-defense, why did it matter to him? The kid wouldn’t actually _kill_ Papyrus. They were a good kid, the lady behind the door did well. He’d have to remember to tell her that later in the evening, he’s sure that would make her proud.

 

He kept watching, Papyrus throwing bone after bone, the human struggling with the concept over the physical change of their soul.

 

The human flirted, even swung their hips a little. He could feel the excitement radiating from Papyrus, and he smiled. The kid was a good kid, no doubt about that. Papyrus seemed much more happy than usual, and his smile was brighter, as well. The kid really did do a good job of making him happy, even agreeing with his opinions and saying that they really did eat his spaghetti.

 

It all happened too quickly, then.

 

With deadly accuracy, what was once his brother was now dust, scattering away in the wind.

 

And then, with a passive face, the human walked away, towards Waterfall.

 

But it couldn’t have happened. The kid was a good kid, weren’t they?

 

It was all just a bad dream, he told himself. He’d wake up any moment now. Papyrus would be yelling at him for sleeping all night, and he’d be dragging him off to create new puzzles. Any moment now.

 

_Any moment._

 

* * *

 

Moments passed, but he hadn’t woken up. He couldn’t.

 

It was then that he knew that it wasn’t a dream. This was _real_.

 

He didn’t want to speak with the lady behind the door quite just yet. He was too busy looking for signs of dust - his brother’s remains - but it seemed impossible to find through the thick powder of the snow.

 

He supposed Papyrus wouldn’t be having a proper funeral anytime soon.

 

The light puff that came with a sigh seemed to rise towards the sky - no, there was no sky - ceiling above him. He began trudging towards the forest, leaving footprints behind as he went.

 

He walked past the puzzles his brother so richly admired.

 

“SANS, THIS ONE’S BY DR. ALPHYS!! SHE’S THE ROYAL SCIENTIST, YOU KNOW!”

 

He gave a nod, his grin widening.

 

“EACH TILE HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE PURPOSE!! I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY IT OUT ON ANY HUMANS I COME ACROSS!”

 

“I’m sure the human’ll love it, bro. They can’t possibly resist puzzles. “

 

“I ALREADY KNOW THAT, SANS.”

 

He gave a small chuckle, his grin trembling. He lifted a hand to wipe away the tears - fuck, was he crying? - that slid down his cheeks, falling down into the snow.

 

A long time ago, he’d question how he was able to cry, refusing to take magic as an answer.

 

But this was _not_ a long time ago. This was _now_. And he kept crying, and he didn’t care where they came from. The tears only added to the trail of footprints that he left in the snow.

 

He walked by another puzzle - the crossword puzzle. This was where the human agreed how Junior Jumble was superior.

 

His own puzzle. The one he designed based off of the past human friends he had made. The cyan, the orange, the blue, the green - a plethora of colors, each standing for their own unique trait. The trait that shown above all others, brightening up his day when they were still there.

 

But… the red one. The one who was filled with determination.

 

He never considered that _determination_ could be such a negative thing. He never considered that someone’s most valuable trait could _d r o w n_   him so easily.

 

* * *

 

 

“My child did _what,_  now?”

 

Oh, boy. This was hard. This was like telling a mother that her beloved child murdered your - oh, wait, this was exactly what was happening.

 

“You heard me. The human killed Papyrus. They were good at first, but with the kid’s glove - you know which kid I’m talking about - they managed to dust him.”

 

“I. . .”

 

Boy, this was heartbreaking to listen to. He’d understand if she was mad at him, telling her that her own child -

 

“Are you feeling quite alright?”

 

“. . . What?”

 

Was this a joke?

 

“You heard me,” she spoke in a voice that mimicked his, “are you feeling quite alright?”

 

“You’re. . . You’re not mad at me?”

 

She gave a light chuckle. “Of course not, why would I? Now, can you answer my question?”

 

He gave a shaky sigh - one of relief, yet one that wasn’t - and his grin only trembled more than it already had been.

 

“Sure I am. Knock knock.“

 

“Who’s there?”

 

* * *

 

Walking back to town. The people are concerned.

 

“Sans! I’ve heard about Papyrus, are you okay?”

 

“Hey, where’s Papyrus?”

 

“Geez man, I’m so sorry about what happened earlier - ”

 

“Sorry - ”

 

“You okay?”

 

“Sans - ”

 

“Are you listeni-”

 

Slamming the door. Sliding down. Leaning against it.

 

Falling tears. Hugging knees. Blurring vision.

 

Hearing static. Hearing the rush of water. Hearing something like it, but not quite.

 

And it grows louder, and louder, and louder and louder a _nd louder and louder an_ ** _d louder and louder and louder_ **.

 

Screaming. It grew _l o u d e r ._

 

Then it stops, and everything grows white, and he can’t hear anything. The silence is nice, he thinks. He stopped screaming then.

 

Two hours.

 

There is nothing there, it’s pitch white, and he still doesn’t hear anything.

 

He screams again, but all he hears are his own screams.

 

Then he hears something - some _one_. A wisp of a voice that he can just barely hear. A voice that he feels he should take in, that he should remember, as if it’ll disappear like a faint memory that never was.

 

He hears nothing but a single word.

  
“ _Reset._ ”


	2. timeline two ; 4/3/2016 ; .--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! first chapter was a prologue sort of chapter, to give you, the reader, the feel of how this will be written!  
> basically, im going to be writing each possible timeline - neutral, no mercy, pacifist.. you name it!  
> after that, there will be a "real plot" that does have to do with the wishy thingy sans did last chapter. :0  
> anyway!! keep on reading, you lovely reader you! <3  
> ( thats a platonic heart btw )  
> ( there also may or may not be some symbolism :' ) )

He wakes up in his own bed, and he feels like he’s forgetting something - something _important_ , and he feels the need to make his usual walk to waterfall, but he feels like he’s already been there before, and he feels confused.

 

He feels like he should be crying, in agony, mournful, but there really was nothing wrong at the moment - there never really was anything wrong to begin with.

 

He feels a wave of nostalgia, of deja vu, and it seems too real to ignore, but it also seems too real to be true.

 

He sits up, and stares at the door opposite to him. He just stares for a while, because why is he feeling this now? He’s never had this flurry of emotions any other day. Just yesterday he’d been guzzling ketchup and telling bad jokes, as always. Sure, he feels numb sometimes, but that’s not exactly what’s going on right now.

 

In fact, instead of numb, emotionless existential crisises, which was when there was too _little_ emotion, he was now feeling too _many_ emotions.

 

Oh, what he would do for a gray area.

 

For some odd reason, he feels like “gray area” is a term he shouldn’t be using, and it’s another feeling to add to the ever growing pile, and he feels overwhelmed - oh, hey, overwhelmed, that’s another feeling.

 

He didn’t sign up for this, so god damn it, why does _he_ of all people have to deal with it?

 

He gave a sigh of exhaustion  - he didn’t have _time_ for this - and he attempted to muster up enough energy to get out of bed.

 

Instead, he flopped back, lying against the bed.

 

That wasn’t really what he was going for, but hey, it’ll do.

 

* * *

 

 

He trudged through the snowy, well-traversed path that he always took. He took it so many times, in fact, that the snowfall itself couldn’t cover it up well enough so that his numerous footprints would be eradicated.

 

It was nice, he thought. It made him feel more _real_ , in a sense.

 

As if he really did have a mark on this world.

 

Well, he certainly knew he didn’t - but it was nice to think of, when he forgot that fact. Sometimes, he even envied the others - they never thought of these things, did they? Not about how everyone would someday die regardless, not about the reason why they existed, and not about what would even happen after they broke the barrier.

 

They lived such simple lives, full of false hope and happiness - the hope and happiness that they believed they had, that he, himself, didn’t. And, if he were truly being honest, he was jealous for it.

 

Was he, he wondered, a bad person for being jealous of other’s fortunes? Sometimes, it seems to be better off without the constant - oh, was he here already?

 

He lifted a hand to knock upon the entrance - or, exit? He supposed he’d never really know the difference - of the ruins.

 

“Knock knock,” he spoke, his grin ever so widening.

 

“Who’s there?” the lady asked, her voice muffled from the door between them.

 

“Nice t’see.”

 

“Nice t’see who?”

 

“Nice t’see not you, because I can’t see you. Why don’t you come on out, sometime?”

 

A long pause emanated for a good moment or two. Neither of them spoke - a faltering grin on one hand, and a growing frown on the other.

 

Or, rather, face, to be more accurate.

 

“I’ve told you before. I’d rather not.”

 

He hesitated, before his voice came out in a low tone. “Why, though? You’re a monster, aren’t you? It’s not like there’s any danger out here.”

 

Ha, who said he couldn’t be serious?

 

“I’m… I’m just not ready, yet. I hope you understand.”

 

“Sure, I do. I can wait.” He paused. “Not to mention, that -”

 

“SANS!” A shout pierced the silence, and Sans quickly regained composure of his grin - not that he ever frowned, but he needed to make sure.

 

“Whoops, that’s my cue. See y’later, lady.”

 

“. . . Goodbye.”

 

With that, he trudged towards the source of the voice, almost stopping to wave goodbye to the door - but no, he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t, because she wouldn’t even _see_ it, it would be pointless - and stopped in his tracks when he saw his brother.

 

“Hey, Papyrus.”

 

“Sans, this IS NOT your station! Your station is over there - “ He pointed at a sentry station, a checkpoint of sorts, just a few yards away, and he continued. “And you are supposed to _BE AT IT_.”

 

“My bad, bro. I’ll get to work on station-ing it up.”

 

“You better!!”

 

With that, Papyrus skedaddled into the distance. Before he disappeared from sight, a faint ‘Nyeh heh heh!’ could be heard.

 

That sure is one loud Nyeh heh heh. It’s actually pretty impressive.

 

* * *

 

 

Napping at his station, he woke up to hear quite a bit of commotion - muffled, behind doors, faint scent of smo - wait, behind doors? Only door there was here, was…

 

His thoughts trailed off, before he shifted his gaze towards the door.

 

Lady..?

 

Putting his hood up, he walked over to the entry - or, exit, whatever - and put his ears (well, where they would be, if he had any) to the door. The lady was fighting someone, but with whom, he couldn’t tell.

 

Not only because he didn’t know anyone else who resided within the Ruins, but also because whoever she was fighting didn’t seem to speak.

 

Strange. . .

 

He perked up when she spoke.

 

“Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here,” her voice was in a low tone, filled with something that sounded like sudden realization and regret. “Not you… But them!”

 

She gave out a laugh - not one that he’d hear every day, from his quick wit and humor - but one of pain, of sorrow.

 

After that, he heard nothing.

 

He’d heard silence in his past few days - when he heard it, he’d cherished it, because it left him time to think. But this silence - it was as if he couldn’t stand it, as if there was something he was _forgetting_ , and that silence was something to remind him of it.

 

But what was he _f o r g e t t i n g ?_

 

* * *

 

 

It was a human.

 

The thing that left the ruins, the thing that left the lady speechless, the _thing_ that just wouldn’t listen to him or his brother no matter what they said.

 

The thing that left a trail of dust, without even a hint of regret.

 

Perhaps they were just misguided. Maybe they’d just think that monsters were bad, that they were _evil_. He wouldn’t blame them. According to all those books in the dump, monsters aren’t exactly good.

 

At least, not in _their_ book.

 

He could just guilt trip them, or tell them what LV _really_ stood for - wait, why does it feel like he’s only repeating himself?

 

He shrugged it off, before emerging himself within his thoughts again. The human interrupted sentences without a word. They kept walking through puzzles, as if they were nothing. It kept - the sudden realization hit him, and it was just then that he even considered the possibility that this human - this _kid_ \- could have been responsible for the lady’s. . .

 

He kept silent, before heading back home.

 

He should’ve warned everybody much sooner.

 

Was this, he wondered, why he felt like crying in the morning?

 

* * *

 

 

The residents of the town were hiding, cowering, and what did _he_ , the great Papyrus do? He tried to _understand_ the human! Of all the unreasonable, naive things Papyrus could’ve done, it had to be _this_!

 

With a frustrated groan, Sans attempted to watch - from a distance, of course. Papyrus didn’t want him around, so he sure isn’t going to let himself be seen - and, besides, the human was right there, too. He didn’t want to show himself.

 

His gaze hardened. Papyrus was saying something - what was he saying? - and was stepping forward towards the human, offering an embrace.

 

He couldn’t see the human’s expression as - with the glove that once belonged to his friend - killed Papyrus within a single hit.

 

A _single_ hit? How..?

 

Of course. They gained EXP. Their level grew.

 

And so did their ATK, which made the scene too much to bear.

 

But he couldn’t - he wouldn’t - allow himself to cry, because for some reason, he feels like he’s seen this all before.

 

* * *

 

 

After a few hours of searching for his brother’s dust, he trudged back towards the path. It was still worn down with footprints as always, but somehow, the feeling of being alone wasn’t so nice anymore.

 

He kept walking, before stopping at the looming door in front of him. He paused, hesitating, before bringing a shaking hand to knock on the door.

 

“Knock knock,” he spoke, bringing his back to the wall, and sliding down to sit.

 

There was no response, and he kept sitting there, but he couldn’t bring himself to go inside, because he knew what he would see.

 

He supposed that he knew what she meant, then, when she said she wasn’t ready to go outside, now. After all, he wasn’t ready to go _in_ side.

 

But what does that matter, when she’s gone?

 

He knew that she died, of _course_ he did - if she wasn’t, she would’ve responded by now, or at least considered to ask to clarify if he was still there. And again, he couldn't bring himself to cry - not because he felt as if he’s seen it all before, but because he felt so incredibly numb.

 

His phone vibrated, notifying that it was near dinner time.

 

For some reason, he’d lost his appetite. He gave out a shaky breath, a huff of smoke rising into the air, and he considered falling asleep.

 

There was no consideration to be taken, anyways, as he slipped into another dreamless sleep.

 

Talk about being caught outside in nasty weather.

 

* * *

 

He woke up in a place that isn’t his, wrapped up in soft blankets, and something that radiated the sense of homeliness and warmth.

 

He sat up, observing the surroundings around him.

 

Faint smell of ramen, damp, the color of a murky sort of green. . .

 

It was kind of obvious, now.

 

The true lab.

 

Man, did he miss this place. Last thing he remembered doing here was dragging in a giant bag of dog treats for Alphys and the amalgamates - wait.

 

He abruptly stood up. Alphys! Where was she - was she hurt? Dusted? Scattered? Please, whatever god is out there, don’t let her have been killed, there’ve already been enough out there who had -

 

“O-oh, you’re awake!”

 

Thank _god_ , she was alive. He quickly regained his composure, his smile just as wide as it ever had been.

 

“Hey, Al.”

 

“Are you feeling okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“...I saw it, you know.”

 

He let out a low chuckle. “Saw what?”

 

“His.. Papyrus, he…”

 

His stare grew blank for a moment, before he played it off with a light grin.

 

“I’ll be fine, Al. He lived a good life, y’know? He probably never even saw what hit him.”

 

“. . . Yeah.”

 

They sat there in silence for a while, the old hums of the machinery surrounding the atmosphere.

 

Sans spoke, interrupting the silence. “He looked up to you, y’know?”

 

“He - he did?”

 

“Yeah. He liked your puzzles. Especially the tiled one.”

 

“Oh - that’s nice to know! It feels good to, uh, be appreciated.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

There was a pause, and Alphys hesitated to speak, for a moment.

 

“You know,” she started, “U-Undyne’s gonna fix this.” Her eyes were glossed over with something that seemed like hope and feeble self assurance mixed together into one single substance.

 

“I know she will. She’s - she’s gotta, right? She’s the captain of the royal guard, and if _she_ can’t - then, well, who _can_?”

 

‘ _I can_ , ‘ he thought. It only took enough anger to make one’s magic stronger, to deal more damage - if he could make himself angry enough - _energetic_ enough, then he could possibly pose a threat to the human. Even with his low attack stats, he could do it.

 

Besides, he knew how to dodge, as well. He would’ve had to, if he was still alive, at this moment.

 

Instead, though, he only shrugged.

 

“Hey, Alphys, where’s the human right now?” he asked, eyes glancing up at her.

 

“According to what I’ve seen from about five minutes ago? It’s, uh, in waterfall - it passed the statue already.”

 

Man. It sure was going quickly - it’s only been a few… minutes? At the very least, that is. It sure seemed like it knew what it was doi - wait, what?

 

Wouldn’t that mean that it would’ve needed to have a plan of some sort? And how it killed all the people who seemed as if they were threats to its murderous rampage within one hit - it was as if it _expected_ it, like it _knew_ the place like the back of their hand.

 

But how..?

 

He shook the idea out of his head. This would have to be thought of, later. He had much bigger fish to fry.

 

Haha, fish - because Undyne was going to fix this - he’d have to remember that for later.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been a while, since he was brought into the true lab. He was able to see the amalgamates again - which was nice. He told jokes, shared laughs, and it seemed as if the tension from the deaths before was gone.

 

Wait, deaths, right - there were people _dying_ out here, and here he was, having a fun time? God, what kind of person _was_ he?

 

His own _BROTHER_ died, and here he was, having a good time!

 

He was such a _h o r r i b l e_ person. What did he even do to deserve to live?

 

Nothing, that’s what. He did absolutely nothing to deserve survival, yet here he was, alive and breathing.

 

Was this some sort of cruel joke?

 

He heard the click of the elevator doors opening, the whir of the machinery growing ever so loudly.

 

He gave an idle wave, and Alphys ran out with an expression that could only be described as despair.

 

It was in that moment when he learned that Undyne had been -

 

She was -

 

\- Spared..?

 

* * *

 

 

“What do you _mean_ , they _spared_ you?”

 

“I mean exactly that, Sans!”

 

“And you didn’t bother to _kill_ them!?”

 

“Of course I couldn’t, they retreated into Hotla - “

 

“You LET them get _AWAY_?”

 

“You know I don’t do well in heated areas, Sans - “

 

“I don’t care, you’re the captain of the royal guard, you’re supposed to - ”

 

“Look, I don’t tell you how to do _your_ job, so don’t tell me how to do _mine_ , got it?”

 

“Like I said, I _don’t_ care! That - that absolute _horrifying_ thing begins killing everyone, and WHAT do you do? You LET them GO - “

 

“SANS!”

 

He clenched his fists, glaring at Undyne. He spoke with gritted teeth, anger seething within him.

 

“What.”

 

“Look, I know you’re absolutely pissed off - “ He rolled his eyes and murmured a sarcastic remark. “ - because of your brother’s death, but I did everything in my power to try and kill that thing. But I _promise_ that I’ll try my best to pursue them. I can’t do much in Hotland.”

 

He glanced to the side, and spoke in a cold, harsh tone, “Fine,” before turning around and heading towards a distant room.

 

He needed some time _alone_. To sort this out with himself.

 

Yeah.

 

* * *

 

 

It’d been a few hours, now, and he felt just a bit calmer.

 

He had sorted the events - as well as his feelings - out, albeit with a bit of frustration and a small amount of internal screaming.

 

First, his brother had died from the hands of the human. Then, he found out that the lady behind the door was also slaughtered. Many residents of the Snowdin area had been murdered, as well - creating a massacre that was surely about to reach the entire underground, as the human walked on.

 

After he found out the lady died, he woke up in the true lab. Undyne failed to kill the human, although she _did_ give in an effort - he could appreciate that, at least.

 

Those were the events. Now, for his feelings.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

 

As well as anger, frustration, sadness, despair, and in the midst of it all, he felt a small glimmer of hope that would fade in and out from time to time.

 

Other times, he would not feel at all, and it felt so incredibly _numb_ , and he wanted to feel something - but no, if he felt something, he would feel the crushing weight of his emotions, and he was so, so very conflicted.

 

But the numb feeling would come and go, and he was used to it, by now.

 

He took in a deep breath, before letting it out again, and stood up.

 

He supposed that he should apologize to Undyne, shouldn’t he?

 

* * *

 

 

He left a note upon one of the fridges within the room where Mrs. Snowdrake often stayed. He gave her a reassuring, worn-out smile, before giving her a small hug.

 

She recoiled from it. Hugs were too warm, for her liking.

 

He went to the lab with the fans, next. There, he pet his biggest _fan_ , (heh,) and he seemed to be drenched in slobber for what seemed like an eternity.

 

The dog(s?) whined, though, when he turned to leave.

 

He came to hum a familiar tune, moving along the corridors. Another faint, distorted voice could be heard singing the lyrics along with him, starting off strongly, before fading out into the dark, once he exited the hallway.

 

He walked to smell the dusty flowers - a reminder that the surface was out there, somewhere. He felt something silently watching his back, but it never came to approach him.

 

As he kept going on, he heard static from his phone, and a spoon-figure occasionally glanced at him in a worried manner.

 

How a spoon can portray emotion without a face, he may never know.

 

The static in his phone eventually died out, before he reached the elevator.

 

His grin wavered, and he stepped in, ready to leave.

 

He’d already said his goodbyes, after all.

 

* * *

 

His footsteps echoed richly throughout the grand hallway, which was impressive, considering that he was wearing slippers.

 

He’d normally wear sneakers, but they’d been worn out for a long time. Well, actually, now that he thought about it, slippers weren’t much better.

 

Oops.

 

He closed his eyes, and let out a sigh.

 

Heh, how symbolic. It almost seemed like something out of a movie. Papyrus would even be proud, perhaps.

 

I mean, who actually closes their eyes and lets out a sigh, in real life?

 

He gave out a tired, _tired_ , breath, and heard footsteps echoing through the hall, similar to his own.

 

This was it. Time to do what the king asked him to do, in the first place.

 

It was time to judge.

 

* * *

 

 

The human child was standing in front of him, now. He could see every sin that they had done, down here - most of which consisted of various murders.

 

He could see their insults. Their carelessness.

 

He could see the way they swung a punch, or whacked someone with a gun.

 

He could see that they were at LV Eighteen.

 

He could see their passive face, unmoving - so, so similar to the grin he always had plastered to his own. They were both still upon confrontation.

 

The heavy, church-like bells rang.

 

“Huh? You look bored. I have the feeling that you aren’t gonna learn anything from this.”

 

Silence. He glanced to the side.

 

“Well, guess I gotta judge you, then.”

 

More silence. He closed his eyes.

 

“Hmmm… Over level fourteen, huh.”

 

He paused.

 

“Well, hmmm… Judgement-wise…”

 

His eyes went blank, attempting to give an intimidating aura.

 

“You’re a pretty bad person.”

 

He kept himself from chuckling. Covering up problems with laughter wouldn't help. Not now.

 

“You wander around, looking for people… killing them to take their money.”

 

“. . .”

 

“That’s just plain messed up. And what’s worse, is that as bad as you are... You aren’t anywhere near as bad as you could be.”

 

His grin grew wide. Don’t let the human know you’re not joking, they won’t appreciate it.

 

He spoke in a light tone. “You pretty much suck at being evil. Honestly, it’s super embarrassing.”

 

He paused, then went on for a friendly suggestion. “But maybe you’d be better… At not killing anyone?”

 

He gave a lazy wink. “Crazy idea, huh? Let me know how that one goes.”

 

He then paused, and within the third blink the human gave, he vanished.

 

Well, that was over with.

 

. . . Man, he sure sucked at his job.

 

* * *

 

 

He went back home.

 

The town was filled with the heavy scent of dust. He could hear several others coughing because of it, the wind carrying the dust through the air.

 

. . . A few kids were already sick, from breathing in the dust. Something to do with lungs, or something? He sure didn’t know. Anatomy wasn’t really his strong suit.

 

He entered his house. The door was unlocked, and it opened with a slow, heavy creak.

 

Even before his first step within the house, he could tell just how _perfect_ everything seemed. The TV was still on, things seemed upbeat, and the fridge was filled with awful spaghetti.

 

And, for as long as he had gone, dust hadn’t settled there. Even with all the dust outdoors, there didn’t seem to be a speck of it, here.

 

Heh. Leave it up to Papyrus’s cleaning antics to ensure that.

 

. . .

 

He locked the door behind him, and went on to close the curtains.

 

He walked past his brother’s bedroom.

 

He entered his own.

 

. . . The lights were off, as always. He flicked the light switch on.

 

The treadmill was still on. The lamp was still broken. His bed was still unmade.

 

How was it that everything inside had somehow stayed the same, while everything outside had changed so drastically?

 

* * *

  

It had been a long, long time since the human had fallen.

 

He picked up the phone. After quite a bit of work, he’d finally managed to grab their number.

 

He dialed it in, and within two rings, he began speaking.

 

“Hey. Is anyone there..?”

 

No response. It must be voicemail.

 

“Well, I’ll just leave a message.”

 

He gave a sigh, preparing himself to talk for a while.

 

“Since you left, things down here… are different.”

 

He kept on talking, glancing from side to side.

 

“With Asgore gone… Undyne became the ruler of the underground.”

 

He thought of how she’d ruled, thus far - and proceeded to bring it into the call.

 

“She’s decided to destroy every human that comes here.”

 

A reasonable decision, at the very least - he couldn’t blame her, really.

 

He continued.

 

“And since the human souls disappeared… She’s also looking for a new way to break the barrier… And when she does, she’s going to wage war on humanity.”

 

He thought of it as a bit humorous - the same thing Asgore had wanted to accomplish, but for completely different reasons.

 

How ironic.

 

“I mean, that was Asgore’s plan, too. But he was really, uh, bad at it.”

 

He would probably be too soft to wage war. Not to mention that he just might see someone who reminded him of. . .

 

His train of thought trailed off, and he focused upon the task at hand - informing the human of the consequences of their actions, trying to provide one last bit of reason, or at least something to learn from.

 

“Undyne has also expanded the Royal Guard massively. She says the first thing we’ll do after we get out of here… Is take her army… And personally hunt you down and destroy you.”

 

Not that he felt bad about that. They kind of _did_ deserve that, after all.

 

“Meanwhile… I’ve been knocking on the door to the Ruins…”

 

It was true. He had been doing that, for old time’s sake.

 

“But the woman that’s been there hasn’t been answering me.”

 

Ha. Of course she hasn’t.

 

“Maybe she’s not feeling well?”

 

She’s.

 

“Heh.”

 

Dead.

 

“Or maybe she’s not feeling anything at all…? You’d better watch yourself, kid. Things are lookin’ real bad for you.”

 

He hung up.

 

. . . Wow. Even over the phone, he can’t accomplish his goal. It wasn’t supposed to be full of grudges, it was only suppose to guilt trip - augh, whatever.

 

At least they’ll be wary of it.

 

* * *

 

 

A few days later, he was in his room, attempting to solve a rubix cube.

 

He had no idea how to solve it, but at least he was making _some_ progress..?

 

Hah. Papyrus would’ve probably been yelling at how off track he was, and probably would’ve taken the rubix cube, by now. He would’ve solved it pretty easily, too.

 

He continued switching the rows around, before he completed the first side. A dull, faded yellow.

 

He gave out a sigh, working on the other sides, before hearing a slight static.

 

He shrugged it off. It was probably just the tv, nothing out of the ordinary.

 

A few minutes later, he’d lost the yellow side. If anything, the colors were even more jumbled up, now. The static only grew louder, though it didn’t sound like static - it also sounded of something like a rushing waterfall.

 

He kept trying to ignore it, to tune it out, and kept idly turning the rows of the cube.

 

It grew louder.

 

 _Too_ loud.

 

He did his best to keep focusing on the rubix cube, but the noise proved to be too much, and it clattered to the ground. He held his hands to his temples, attempting to soothe the headache caused by it.

 

. . . It did nothing.

 

He let out a cry of agony, but it grew louder, and he couldn’t even hear his own voice.

 

It was so, _so_ very deafening.

 

Then it finally, _finally_ stopped, and he felt relieved. The room had gone to the previous tranquil, silent state it had used to be.

 

He kept rubbing his temples, and went to retrieve the rubix cu - huh. Where’d it go..?

 

He sighed. He can’t even take care of a simple, generic cube correctly. How _pathetic_.

 

He failed to notice everything around him disappearing, fading into a distant white. 

 

. . . A few hours later, he sat in complete silence. In a sense, this was also deafening.

 

There was nothing to be heard. No birds chirping, no children laughing and coughing outside… There was absolutely nothing.

 

It was concerning, in a way, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. So he kept sitting, hearing nothing but the surrounding silence.

 

It was then when he had heard a voice - a voice he felt was familiar, though he was _certain_ he had not heard it before.

 

A small, fragile whisper, that felt as if it could vanish just as quietly as it had when it began.

 

A single word.

  
“ _Reset_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline Two;
> 
> Dear Journal.
> 
> This timeline, awoken with a sense of nostalgia, was filled with deja vu. I’m assuming that it was from the previous timeline before, considering it was still very much wracked with pain and grief, after Papyrus’s death.
> 
> In this timeline, the human showed nearly no mercy. They wiped out the entirety of the underground’s population - or, at least, those they could fight - and gained quite the amount of LV. In fact, the sole person they had spared within a fight was Undyne.
> 
> How ironic. One of the most aggressive towards humans, and she had survived.
> 
> It was a few months after defeating Asgore that the anomaly reset the timeline.
> 
> . . . The third entry will be written soon, I’m sure.
> 
> \- Asterisk.

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline One; 
> 
> Dear journal.
> 
> Because I wish to keep my identity concealed in the event that this journal may be found, so that I will not be a target to the anomaly, I will refer to myself as Asterisk. However, moving on. 
> 
> I've no memory of any timelines before this particular one, but I shall document my experiences as needed.
> 
> The human killed a few of the residents of the Ruins. Not in front of Toriel, of course, bless her heart. They sweet-talked their way with Toriel, and I'm sure that she absolutely adored the child. She adored every child that fell down, but this one - they've seemed to make their own corner within her heart.
> 
> They later left the ruins, sparing her. They entered the forest, and because they were being watched, they did not kill any residents of the Snowdin area. Again, they sweet-talked their way to Papyrus, before betraying him and decapitating him within one sole punch. It's quite peculiar, really. Shortly after entering Waterfall, a reset had already initiated. It almost makes me wonder if they're really the anomaly, with it happening so suddenly.
> 
> And such were the events of this timeline. I will make the second entry shortly.
> 
> \- Asterisk.


End file.
